Come Follow Me, Come Die for Me

I was recently listening to a podcast featuring Rick Warren and he madethis statement which has been rolling around in my head ever since. For regular readers, things that roll around in my head for a while usually find their way out through my fingers into some sort of article. This statement is no different and has found its way to print.

When Jesus met the fishermen who would become his disciples he invited them simply to ‘Follow Him’. There was no great master plan given to them at the time. There was no discussion about salary, career path, stock options, pension plan, just a simple request – ‘Follow me’. You can read the whole story in Matthew chapter 4, but essentially Jesus sees these guys fishing, stops and talks with them and tells them to follow him and he will make them fishers of men. That’s it, that is all the information he gives. Would you have followed him? Do you follow him now?

It struck me that the same simple request that Jesus made to those first disciples is the same request that He makes to everyone today – Come, follow me. As I considered this it became apparent that when we first meet Jesus and first hear that call that we do not have a 5 year plan given to us as to what ‘following Him’ will look like, yet for many of us we took a step of faith and followed.

As you follow the lives of the disciples you see that the simple request to ‘follow me’ is quickly changed to ‘Come die for me’. In Matthew chapter 16, we see the disciples and Jesus who have been travelling through the land and spreading the Good News about the Messiah. They have seen Him feed thousands from little more than a bag lunch. They have seen countless people healed and set free from all manner of afflictions. They have seen miracle and they have seen heated discussions and attack from some of the religious leaders. However, in Matthew 16:24 they see that Jesus simple request to “Follow Me” actually has more to it. The act of following requires sacrifice – complete sacrifice. Matthew 16:24-26 says,

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny  himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

How many of us in our Christian walk have lost the eagerness to simply ‘Follow Me’ and now demand to know what is in store if we follow? How many of us have refused to ‘Follow Me’ because we think it unwise to do something that we don’t know the outcome of that activity? How many of us will only ‘Follow Me’ if we know the outcome, and will actually refuse if the outcome does not appear to be beneficial to us? How many of us count the cost first before accepting the call to ‘Follow Me’? How many of us justify our refusal to ‘Follow Me’ by saying that it would be unwise, or too expensive, or too difficult, or too painful or too whatever to simply ‘Follow Me’?

How many of us have not read Matthew 16?

We answered the call to ‘Follow Me’ and now we must answer the call to ‘Die For Me’. We need to set aside our own wants and desires, our own wisdom, or own way of doing things and get back to the child like faith where we said “YES!” when Jesus whispered ‘Follow Me’.

Following Jesus is not safe. Following Jesus is not comfortable. Following Jesus is painful. Following Jesus is difficult. Following Jesus brings rejection. Following Jesus brings separation of brother from brother, or from children to parents. Following Jesus costs – a lot.

Does this describe your Christian walk?

Are you really following?

Are you really dying?